Monthly Archives: April 2014

In search for my research topic, I have decided to apply the principle of ‘flow‘.

This principle, defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1992), refers to a state of complete devotion to an activity that is demanding all of our attention and expertise, without being conscious of the environment around us (Lyubomirsky, 2007, p.186). This state of mind can be experienced in any of life domains, and highly performing companies are applying it in their business models (Perschel, 2010).

In other words, it means being completely immersed in what you are doing, to the point you become unaware of your surroundings. I am in the process of formulating my research, and I started timing myself. When was I experiencing this state of mind? When I was completely devoted to what I was doing? Which article, or book had inspired me so greately that I could not stop but reading beyond my academic responsibilities?

My time was passing at a greatest speed when I was reading positive psychology books. Yes, you might say, these types of books are very helpful when one is starting a PhD, however, I have found that I am trully passionate about the philosophy of ‘happiness’. I have enjoyed reading not only works of Dr Martin Seligman,Dr Sonia Lyubomirsky, or Shawn Achor (in time I will post here very mind catching TED talks from these great researchers..). With a great pleasure I have immersed myself into some great enterpreneurial books with a happiness mindset. One of these books was ‘DeliveringHappiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose’ by Tony Hsieh. I was reading it during the day, on the train, during my breaks, on my way home…

After applying the principle of ‘flow’ to deciding the way forward with my research, it was a simple decision for me. I would like to extend my current knowledge beyond my management discipline to positive psychology, to follow high performing companies and to enjoy maximum engagement. I hope that my PhD journey will be full of excitement in pursuing what I love – continuous learning and development not only as a professional, but also as a private person.

I have created this blog to trace my process of ‘becoming’ through my own sense-making, as excellent writers Tony Watson and Pauline Harris (1999) would put it. I will share the books that will inspired me and the principles I will come across, helping me on my journey.